Elversberg coach compares historic promotion to moon landing | OneFootball

After missing out on a historic Bundesliga promotion following a late defeat in the promotion/relegation playoff last term, Elversberg secured their place in Germany’s top-flight for the 2026/27 season.

The 3-0 win over already-relegated Preußen Münster salvaged a first-ever promotion for the modest club. Since that loss to Heidenheim, Elv have gone through lots of changes.

First, their long-term coach Horst Steffen decided to take Werder Bremen’s job. Steffen was at Elversberg when they were in fourth-tier in the 2021/22 season. The man who orchestrated back-to-back promotions before last season’s third-place finish in 2. Bundesliga was sacked by the Bundesliga club in February.

Meanwhile, Vincent Wagner, who was previously Hoffenheim II’s coach, started his job with crucial players leaving the club in the summer. Top-scorers Fisnik Asllani and Muhammed Damar returned to Hoffenheim at the end of their loan spells, while star midfielder Robin Fellhauer joined FC Augsburg.

There was more departure in January as the league’s top-scorer Younes Ebnoutalib joined Eintracht Frankfurt. The sporting director Nils-Ole Book has also left them a couple of months ago to take a similar role at Borussia Dortmund.

Despite it all, Wagner managed to get it over the line as Elversberg beat Paderborn and Hannover in a tough battle for promotion. At the end of the game, the 40-year-old coach celebrated the promotion with fans and the club’s popular mascot, Paul.

"I’ve been a bit excited for the last two days," a jubilant Wagner said after the game. After their defeat to the eventually relegated Fortuna Düsseldorf side, they had to react quickly in front of their fans. "We were allowed to learn last week, and then we did better today," said Wagner, who admitted to start talking about promotion with his wife after Schalke confirmed their place three weeks ago.

"Of course, this is something special. A friend of mine said this week, 'If Elv can get promoted, it's like flying to the moon.' And we managed to make the moon landing today,” Wagner added as he concluded his Sky interview to join the wild celebrations.